Cops arrest, charge man wanted in girlfriend's shooting death

VIDEO: Police are searching for Prince Sanders after his girlfriend is found shot to death in her home.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

Deputies have found the 27-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, according to authorities.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Prince Sanders showed up at Shands Hospital Tuesday night and was taken into custody.

Sanders was transported to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, where detectives planned to question him Tuesday night, deputies said.

Prince Sanders was booked into the Duval County Jail just before 11 p.m. Tuesday night on charges of murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Homicide detectives said Sanders' 23-year-old girlfriend, who they have not named, was shot around 6:45 a.m. early Tuesday morning at the apartment she shared with a roommate in Riverside. The apartment is located on Ralph Street, near the intersection of King and Ernest streets.

Police said her boyfriend -- named Prince Sanders (pictured, right, from previous arrest) -- was there "on and off." Sanders goes by the nickname "Smoke."

"Last night they got into an altercation. He battered her and left," JSO Sgt. Shawn Coarsey said. "Sometime this morning, he returned and they got into another altercation. He produced a handgun and shot and killed her."

Neighbors said the couple had two young children. They said the couple had problems in the past, but they never expected it to come to this.

"It was like before the kids were leaving out to go to school this morning, we heard gunshots. Dogs were barking real bad," said one neighbor who didn't want to be identified.

"I never thought that he would do something like that," neighbor Jesse Peterson added. "That goes to show you, you never really know what somebody is thinking or going through."

Channel 4 has learned that Sanders has a lengthy criminal history, with seven arrests over eight years on charges including drug possession, arson, burglary, criminal mischief and domestic intimidation.

Later Tuesday morning, police said an arrest warrant was issued for Prince, who may be in a 2000 red Chevrolet Impala with Florida license plate No. 7384HJ.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

2nd domestic killing in 2 weeks has similarities

This case marks the second domestic killing in less than two weeks in Jacksonville in which a man is accused of killing his girlfriend.

The first happened on Thanksgiving Day. Police say their suspect, Calvin Wright, turned himself in for killing Rolisha Thomas.

The Thanksgiving Day killing happened on West Second Street, just a couple of miles away from the Ralph Street homicide.

As police investigated the scene, neighbors couldn't help but compare the two cases.

Peterson said he has the unfortunate distinction of knowing both victim' in the unrelated killings.

"When I heard about this incident, I thought about the last incident that happened on Thanksgiving," he said. "All this killing going on, killing your girlfriend or your wife. It's not worth it. It's not worth it. Just walk away."

Other neighbors spoke to the similarities of the killing last month in which police said Wright shot his girlfriend after she tried to break up with him.

"Here it goes again. That's the first thing come to mind," said one neighbor who didn't want to be identified. "We hearing so much, you know, we don't know if it's just somebody firing in the air or there's somebody really hurt."

Channel 4 crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson talked about the role police play in these domestic violence cases, particularly if the victim is afraid of being attacked again.

"They'll recommend that you might want to get out of this spot in the event the person returns or in the event of future violence coming back to your house, but the decision is totally left up to the victim at that time," Jefferson said. "They can't force them. They can't make them, but they will make references to where help is available, where they should go or could go if they wanted to, but they never ever twist the arm of the individual to make them go to that spot."

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